Australia’s 2017 AGM season was significantly “less tumultuous” than the 2016 season, with fewer ‘strikes’ (a 25% vote against) on remuneration reports the Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) has reported. Most Australian companies hold their AGMs in October and November and the ASIC reviews the voting results from those meetings each year. The ASIC […]

The Indian proxy season for 2017 represented a tipping point for shareholder activism, according to corporate governance advisory service, InGovern with institutional investors now prepared to take on company boards. In its overview of this year’s season, which begins in January and peaks in September in India, InGovern said the number of cases where shareholders […]

Since announcing in June that a new mandatory auditor rotation rule would be introduced in 2023 South Africa’s Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) has surveyed the proxy voting results in respect of auditor re-appointments this year. The IRBA said that it had found a visible trend towards voting against the reappointment of auditors. Of […]

Investors in leading Swiss companies are increasingly prepared to vote against management, particularly over executive pay, according to research by the Ethos Foundation. Ethos, a pension fund-led responsible investment foundation shows that amongst the 200 companies comprised in the stock market index SPI, the average approval rate for items put to a shareholder vote reached […]

News of Snap Inc’s pending IPO arrived too late for our usual weekly round-up, but no matter, now that the full implications of the disappearing photo-apps disappearing votes have started to sink in, we can take a moment to reflect on what this really means for investors and good governance. First, a quick update on […]

Travel company, Thomas Cook received a warning on pay this week at its AGM when the voting results showed that some investors at starting to take a joined up approach to remuneration-related voting. This is a signal to all companies seeking approval for their remuneration policies and new incentive plans this year that shareholders do not […]

A majority of Sports Direct independent shareholders remain sceptical of governance improvements at the troubled retailer and last week voted against the re-election of its chairman, Keith Hellawell. Under UK listing rules, the retailer had been forced to hold a general meeting to vote again on his reappointment after most independent shareholders voted against him at the […]

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is consulting on general Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct and supplemental advice to provide practical support to companies on the implementation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. This general guidance builds on the sectoral guidance already published or being developed by the OECD. Currently due diligence guidance covers […]

Over half of the Sky’s (LON: SKY) independent shareholders rebelled against the election of James Murdoch as a non-executive director at last week’s AGM following his appointment as chairman earlier this year. Overall Murdoch received 71.6% support for his re-election, the lowest vote in favour of any of the AGM’s resolutions. However, when 21st Century Fox shareholdings are […]

Royal Dutch Shell experienced a relatively modest level of investor opposition to its executive remuneration report at its recent AGM with a 14% vote against, this follows the rival oil company BP’s loss of its pay vote last month. However, Manifest data shows it is the highest level of opposition Shell has received in the past six years – […]